fish out of water

That's my little Aquarius for you---as uncomfortable IN the water as most fishies are out of it.  Seriously, the kid would not even get her face wet in the bath.  But that was 3 weeks ago,  before we met Miss Mary.

This woman is nothing short of a miracle worker.  She's a tough-love, hard-assed, no-BS drill sergeant of a swim teacher who, by god, WILL TEACH YOUR KID HOW TO SWIM.  The first few lessons, there were a lot of tears and a lot of screaming.  It was traumatic for everyone involved (except Miss Mary, who apparently sees such behavior on a regular basis and doesn't even bat an eye, just drags your child kicking and shrieking back into the pool).  But let me tell you, they respond to this approach.  Swim or die.  It works.

I wish I had video of the first lesson when Sadie could barely be convinced to get her foot wet.  But now, here's what she can do:

Backfloating:

Diving/Crawlstroke:

And diving in the Deep End!